8 Things Everyone Needs To Know About Having Period Sex

romantic black couple in their underwear, laying down together and kissing

When you want to get laid, you never want something going on downstairs that makes you feel any less than your total queen self.

Luckily for many women, being on their period is just a question of just changing the bedsheets, rather than not getting between them at all, but for those who are still on the fence, just remember, we're talking regular abstinence and that requires serious consideration.

So we've done the research for you and are sharing the eight things we all need to know when you're thinking of replacing that tampon with something else.

You definitely can have sex on your period.

For people wondering whether they can have sex on their period, the short answer is: yes. Yes, you absolutely can have sex on your period.

Myths surrounding period sex continue to exist - in Poland the taboo is so great that an old wives' tale says you can actually kill your partner by having period sex (crikey).

And while some women might choose to wait until they have finished because they feel uncomfortable about the potential mess, are in pain or because they oppose it on religious grounds, there is nothing to stop you doing it if that is what you want to do.

You are not the only woman having period sex.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there here have not been a lot of studies into this area but there have been anecdotal surveys conducted, such as this one by Medium, which found that 55% find period sex to be "totally natural" or "awesome". So what are you waiting for? Everyone else is already on board.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about.

An ActionAid poll from 2016 found that one in three British women are still embarrassed about their periods, and a Bodyform survey, provided exclusively to The Huffington Post UK, found that two in five women regard menstruation as "dirty", "shameful", "embarrassing" or "disruptive to everyday life".

So it is not much of a surprise then that many women do feel embarrassed about the prospect of getting down and dirty during their period, but there really is no reason why you should feel embarrassed, (especially by your partner), as it is a normal bodily function.

And let's not forget there are lots of other bodily fluids involved in sex. Yuhuh.

But if you don't want to, that is totally understandable too.

We get it, you don't want to feel you're letting the sisterhood down by backing out of period sex, but for most of us, it is hardly when we feel at our sexiest.

Lots of women are already experiencing physical discomfort, such as bloating and don't want to make it worse. According to Dr Helen Webberley, the dedicated GP for Oxford Online Pharmacy, it's "perfectly normal to experience swelling" at this time.

"As levels of oestrogen and progesterone increase they can cause fluid retention. The less body fat a person has around their midriff, the more pronounced the bloating can appear," she told The Huffington Post UK.

If you don't try, you'll never know if you like it.

You might have decided that it is going to freak out your partner so it is not even worth considering whether you would enjoy it yourself, but the aforementioned Medium survey showed that 30% of people polled (that is men and women) are actually keen for more period sex.

So not only might your partner actually not mind, they might actually really want to try it (after all being confident about your body and embracing everything about it really is the sexiest thing anyone can do). So next time you're not sure whether to pass it off as a headache, remember your partner might actually be really into it.

But you can still get pregnant, so don't ditch the condom.

For many people, having sex on your period you might not think that pregnancy is an issue (as you are literally bleeding out your womb lining) but you still need to practice safe sex.

The NHS says: "It is very unlikely, but you can still get pregnant if you have unprotected sex during your period if you ovulate early. This is because sperm can survive inside a woman's body for up to seven days [after you have sex].

Although the risk is small, it could happen."

Your chance of catching STIs is actually slightly higher.

Not only should you be using condoms to prevent pregnancies during your period, but you still run the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, and the risk may even be higher.

The NHS says: "There are a few risks associated with having sex during menstruation. HIV and a few other sexually transmitted infections may be passed on more easily during a woman's period (both from the woman to the man and vice versa)."